Yachts & Yachting – April 2018

April 2018 Yachts & Yachting 43

INDIVIDUALS

Invite a friend or

member of the family

along to sail for the first

time (but pick a sunny

day!). For example

you could get them

involved in Bart’s Bash

this September. If every

one of us regular sailors

did that just once a

year, perhaps this one

small act would have

more impact than

anything else we can

do to grow the sport.

Be the buddy for

a new club member.

When kids go to

secondary school for

the first time, often an

older child is appointed

as a mentor to guide

them through those

daunting first few days

and weeks. Even if

you don’t want to be

someone’s buddy, say

hello to someone you

haven’t met before. It’s

amazing how many

people frown at a new

face that they don’t

recognise. A smile is

much more welcoming.

CLASS

ASSOCIATIONS

Run a class survey and

ask your members

what they like and what

they don’t like about

the class, the boat, the

style of racing, what

else they would like to

do other than racing.

Give the best prizes

and the lion’s share of

the attention to the

middle-to-back-of-

fleet sailors. The front

half of the fleet will

tend to look after itself.

Finding ways of making

the newer and/or the

slower competitors feel

included and welcomed

is vital to a healthy

class association.

SAILING CLUBS

Run a club survey and

ask your members

what they like and

do not like.

Encourage inter-

generational sailing

• get kids and adults
  sailing together, maybe
  not all the time, but at
  least some of the time.
  Perhaps the most
  important thing of all
  is to try new stuff –
  new racing formats,
  different social
  activities, find more
  ways of having fun.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

Above

The Optimist has

long been the

race trainer of

choice for juniors.

But is there too

much focus on

conventional

racing?

Alex Thomson
Vendée Globe runner-up
The most important thing
for boosting the future of
our sport is to get kids out
on the water and make
it fun for them. There is so much
there that can’t be taught in a school
environment, but that are essential
life skills and lessons that will stand
them in good stead for the future.
Realising that going sailing is
not just a pastime but a valuable
asset for education is something
done in France and New Zealand,
and is something we would benefit
from embracing more in the UK.
The great thing about sailing is
that no matter what you are teaching
there is engagement there.
You put two young people
in a boat and it teaches them a
C/O 1851 TRUST/MARC TURNER; EMIRATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND; GEOFF COX; RYA/PAUL WYETHhuge number of life skills.